Earthenware-press.



E. L. JESTER.

EARTHENWARE PRESS APPLICATION FILE-D 11211 .17, 1911.

1,103,968. Patented July 21, 1914,

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E. L. JBSTER.

'EARTHENWARE PRESS.

, APPLIOATVION FILED APR.17, 1911.

1,103,968, Patented July 21, 1914.

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lzgeiw L. Marten UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE I1. TESTER, OE EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO.

EARTHENWARE-PRESS.

mosses.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUGENE L. Jns'rnn, acitizen of the United States, residing at East Liverpool, in the countyof Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulEarthenware-Press, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to thatclass of earthenware presses especiallyadapted for the forming of articles of earthenware from clay by thestiff mud process. That is to say a device embodying my invention ismore particularly adapted for working clay containing substantially tento fifteen per cent. moisture or thereabout. Heretofore earthenware,especially dishes and similar articles, have usually been made by whatis called the soft mud process, or by what is called the dust process,which involves the use of very great pressure upon clay in the form ofdust. By my invented construction I propose to form the articles fromclay in a state intermediate the soft clay state and the dust state,using clay having sufficient moisture to work readily while beingsufficiently stiff to retain the shape of the articles after they havebeen formed.

While I have hereinabove mentioned dishes as one of the articles forwhich my invention is particularly adapted, it should be stated that theinvention is also adapted for the forming of many other articles fromclay by the stiff mud process, stone ware, including jugs and the like,as well as other articles of earthenware being very readily made upon adevice of my invention, as will. hereinafter be fully explained.

The objects of my invention are to generally improve devices of thecharacter mentioned and to provide an earthenware press adapted for theproduction of a large out put of perfectly formed articles of a superiorquality and closer texture with the minimum amount of labor, and withaccuracy and thorough efliciency in every respect.

An additional object of the invention is to provide means wherebyearthenware articles may be made more uniform in weight, size, shape andquality. Moreover, by means of my invention in carrying out the stiffmud process I am enabled to produce earthenware articles which willpossess greater strength and will withstand the biscuit firing in a verysuperior manner, the quality of the ware after such firing being such asSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 17, 1911.

Patented July 21, 1914.

Serial No. 621,542.

to take the glaze better and more evenly and undergo the gloss-firing ina way to produce better results than have heretofore been possible ofattainment.

These objects together with other objects readily apparent to those whoare skilled in the art to which this invention belongs I attain by theconstruction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, although myinvention may be embodied in other forms of construction, thatillustrated herein being chosen by way of example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of an earthenware pressembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the press. Fig. 8is an elevation of one side of the reciprocating plunger operating headin its most elevated position. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the same sideof said head showing the head in its downward or pressing position. Fig.5 is an elevation of the other side of said head in the position assumedby the parts just after the pressing operation, when the head isbeginning to rise.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view through the rotatable die blocktaken on the line 66 of Fig. 1 and showing said block provided with diesappropriate for the making of queensware plates. Fig. 7 is a verticalsectional View through an upper and lower die adapted for use on thesame press as illustrated in the other figures, said die being adaptedfor the formation of one-half of a stone-ware jug. Figs. 8 and 9 are endand side elevations respectively of a stone ware jug made from half jugsas produced by the die illustrated in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a fragmentaryperspective view of the plunger head operating shaft and its connectedarms.

Throughout the several views similar reference numerals indicate similarparts.

The numerals 1 and 2 indicate the left and right-hand side framesconstituting the main support for the press. Each of said sidescomprises two vertically. disposed, spaced upright portions asillustrated in Fig. 2, said portions being connected at their upper endsby the cross-yoke 3 and intermediate their ends by the main bearingsupport a. Each of said sides is preferably formed of a single casting,although it will be understood that any suitable frame-work may beemployed. Journaled in the bearings 5 on the side frames 1 and 2 is themain power shaft 6 which extends from side to side and extends beyondthe frame 2, where said shaft is provided with the fixedly mounted smallgear 7 and the drivepulley 8. Extending transversely at the top of theside frames and journaled in bearings 9 on the cross yokes 3 is theshaft 10 which extends side, as will hereinafter be more fullyexplained. Said die block extends transversely from side frame to sideframe and is provided with the integral heavy trunnions 13 and 14 whichare rotatably j ournaled in ap .prop-riate bearings 15 and 16respectively in the supports 4.

In the drawings, especially in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, I have illustrated thedie block as provided with lower diesfo-r the forming of plates. It willbe understood that the dies used upon the press will vary in accordancewith .thearticles to be made thereon, the

lower die and the upper die, to be hereinafter more fully explained,being appropriately made to form the desired article. Each lower dieillustrated in the drawings comprises theouter fixed portion 17 adaptedto form the lower .outer contour of the plate, and with the projectablebottom 18 which is adapted to form the central bottom portion of theplate. Each of the bottoms 18 is fixedly mounted upon the outer end of abar 19 which is slidably mounted in the die block and extends throughsaid die block into a central opening 20* therein, the sliding movementofthe bar being limited by a lug 21 arranged in a recess 22 in the. bodyof the die block. The opening 20 is cylindrical in form and disposedwith its axis coincident with the axis of the trunnions 13 and 14.Through the trunnion 13 extends, axially, a

shaft opening 23 into the opening 20 and slightly beyond thesame, saidshaft opening 23 being smaller in diameter than the diamep j Journaled1n the. opening 23 is the dle bottom actuating shaft ter of the opening20.

24 which is provided within the opening 20 with a cam projection 25extending outwardly toward. the front of the machine and substantiallyto the wall of the opening 20 at said front. For the purpose ofpreventing rotation of the shaft 24 the arm 26 is provided, which arm isfixedly attached to a fixed portion of the machine, as for instance tothe bearing 15 as shown in Fig. 1, and has non-rotatable fixedconnection with the shaft 24. It will thus be apparent that the dieblock 12 may rotate with its trunnions- 13 and 14: while the shaft 24Lremains nonrotatable. The bars 19, when the lugs 21 are at the innerlimits of the recesses 22, extend slightly into the opening 20, as willbe seen from an inspection of Fig. 6. As

.1 and bears against the rod 28.

the die block 12 is rotated in the direction throw each bar 19 to itsextreme outer limit in moving from the upper horizontal position underthe upper die to the forward vertical position. The bars 19 are somounted in the block 12 as not to slide in and out of said block withmuch freedom. Wheneach bar has been projected forwardly ,at the front ofthe machine, it will remain in the of the arrow shown in Fig. 6 the bars19, one. after another, will be brought into engagement with the fixedcam project-ion 25,. the cam face of which is so formed as to projectedposition as it'passes down through j the lower horizontal position andupwardly even retain its projected position after it has been brought upto the upper horizontal positionagain. ,The purpose of. this willhereinafter more fully appear.

The trunnion 13 is provided at itsend, beyond the side frame 1, withfour ratchet lugs. 27 equi-distantly arrangedabout said through the rearvertical-position and W111.

trunnion. The rod 28 is verticallyslidably 27 when said lug 27 hasreached a-point perpendicularly under the axis of the trunnion g 13. Forthe purpose of normally holding the lower end of the rod 28 over againstthe trunnion 13 a spring v32 is provided which spring is fixedlyconnected to the side frame For the purpose of preventing the rod 28from dropping too low a stop collar 33 is fixedly ar ranged onsaid rodabove the arm 29, and a similar collar 34 may be arranged below the arm30, if desired, to prevent the rod 28 from being displaced upwardly.Near the upper end of the rod 28 a fixed lug 35 on said rod extendsinwardly toward the shaft 10, and a radial arm 36 fixedly connected tothe end of the shaft '10 is adapted to engage said lug 35 as the shaft10 rotates in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig.2. It

will be noted that the arm 36 is provided;

with an integral projection 37 which has a squared engaging faceadaptedto' positively engage the lug 35. From the outer limit of theprojection 37 the end of the arm 36 is rounded as shown in Fig. 2, thusforming a cam face on the outer end of said arm. When the projection37engagesthe lug 35 and the shaft 10 continues to rotate the rod 28will'be lifted vertically until. the cam face onthe end of the arm36'has been brought into position, by the rotation of the shaft 10,tobear against 13l16.1'0Cl 28. By

7 the furtherrotation of the shaft 10 said cam face will so bearagainst'the rod 28 as to spring it back and away from the shaft 10, thusreleasing the lug 35 from the projection 37 and permitting the rod 28 todrop to its lowermost position shown in Fig. 2.

The collar 34 should be so located upon the rod 28 that said collar willengage the arm 30 when the rod 28 has been lifted to the point where theprojection 37 should be released from the lug 35. If for any reason thedisengagement of said projection from said lug should not take place atthe proper instant, the collar 34, having come into engagement with thearm 30, will resist further upward movement of the rod 28 and will thustend to force the disengagement of the projection 7 and the lug 35, aswill be readily understood. By the upward movement of the rod 28, justdescribed, the lower end of the rod will. be moved upwardly andoutwardly, carrying with it in its movement the trunnion 13 to which thehook 31 is connected by its engagement with the lug 27. The spring 32will permit the rod not onlv to slide vertically but also to movelaterally so as to allow for the movement of the end of the rod 28through a quarter of a circle with the trunnion 13, as will be understood. In this way, for every complete revolution of the shaft 10 theblock 12 will be rotated one quarter of a complete revolution, thepurpose of which movement will more readily appear as the descriptionproceeds.

Fixedly connected to the side frames 1 and 2 are the vertical guide ways38 to which is slidably connected the plunger cross head 39, the guideways 38 being adapted to guide said cross head in a true and accuratemanner upwardly and downwardly. Connected to said cross head on theunderside thereof is the upper die 40 adapted to form the contour of theupper side of the plate and adapted to co-act with any one of the lowerdies upon the die block. The upper die 4-0 is provided with a downwardlyprojectable bottom 41 which is normally held in its retracted position,as shown in Fig. 1, by retaining springs 42. In the body of the die 40an aperture 43 opens from the top surface of said die to said bottom 41and upon a pin 44 extending across said aperture is pivotally mountedthe tripping lever which is provided with a short right angled footportion 45, with an upwardly extending portion 46 and with a laterallyextending portion 47. The portion 47 extends to one of the verticalmembers of the side frame 1 and upon said vertical member is pivotallymounted at 48 a catch 49 provided with a hook portion adapted to engagethe end of the portion 47 when the upper die is in its lowermostposition. The catch 49 is held in engagement with the portion 47 bymeans of a spring 50 bearing against said catch,

said spring being fixedly connected to theside frame 1. When the upperdie is raised from its lowermost pressing position the catch 49,engaging the end of the portion 47, will pivotally move the trippinglever upon the pin 44 so as to throw the foot portion 45 into engagementwith the'bottom 41 and force the same, against the tension of thesprings 42, downwardly, thus projecting the bottom outward from the bodyof the upper die, as illustrated in Fig. 2. As the upper die movesupwardly the tripping lever will be pivotally moved more and more uponthe pin 44, until said upper die has moved several inches upwardly, theangle of the portion 47 with relation to the catch 49 will be such thatthe end of the portion 47 will slip away from the catch 49,

whereupon the springs 42, drawing the botin Fig. 1, thus throwing thetripping lever back into normal position, whereupon the end of theportion 47 will again be engaged by the catch 49 when the upper diereturns to its lowermost position.

F or the purpose of vertically reciprocating the upper die the plungeroperating head 51, with its associated mechanism, is provided. Said headis preferably made in the form of a flat metallic plate provided withthe rounded top portion 52, and connected at its bottom side with theplunger rods 53 which are adjustably connected to the cross head 39 forthe purpose of adjusting the cross head 39 upwardly and downwardly withrelation to said rods 53 for the purpose of varying the distance withinwhich the upper die may approach the lower die in accordance with theparticular work to be done upon the press. The head 51 is provided inits central portion with a vertically disposed slot 54 of sufficientwidth to permit the shaft 10 topass therethrough, the sides of said slotbeing adapted to engage the sides of said shaft to steady the head inits vertical reciprocating movements now to be explained. On one sideofthe head 51 an upper curved supporting ledge 55 is provided, the innersurface of which is traced by a radius extending from the axis of theshaft 10 when. at the lower end of the slot 54. Said supporting ledgeextends only from the point 56 to the point 57. From a point below theslot 54 and extending to one side and upwardly toward the end 57 of thesupporting ledge 55 is the lower pressing ledge 58, the inner curvedsurface of which is eccentric with reference to the axis of the shaft 10when said shaft is in the upper part of the slot 54, the eccentricity ofsaid ledge 58 being for the purpose hereinafter disclosed. On theopposite side of the head 51 from that upon which the ledge 55 isarranged is the lifting ledge 59, which is similar tothe ledge 55 exceptthat the radius by which its inner surface is struck is greater than theradius for the ledge 55, and the ledge 59 is longer than the ledge 55,extending from the point 60 to the point 61.

The shaft is provided with a short sustaining and pressing arm 62 on theside of the head 51 on which the ledge 55 is arranged and with a longerlifting arm 63 on the side of the head 51 on which the ledge 59 isarranged. The arms 62 and '63 are offsetfrom each other so that as theshaft 10 rotates in the direction indicated by the position by-theengagement of said arm 63j with the ledge 59. At the time when the .arm63 is in said vertical position the arm' 62 will enter into-engagementwith the ledge 55 and although the arm 63 may subsequently pass out ofengagement with the ledge 59 the arm 62 will sustain the head 51 in itsupper position until said arm 62 haspassedbeyond the point 57. At thetime when the arm 62 passes beyond the point 57 the head 51 will bepermitted to immediately 'drop, carrying withit the plunger rods 53, thecross head 39, and the u'pperdie. head 51 will drop until the upper diecomes into contact with the clay on the lower die which is at the timeunder the upper die as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

When said upper die" comes into the contact with said clay the positionof the shaft 10 in the slot 5% will be very near the top-limit of saidslot and immediately following the drop of said head the arm 62 willcome into contact with the eccentric inner surface of the pressing ledge58. Continuing in its rotation the shaft 10 will carry the arm 62downwardly along said eccentric face of the ledge 58, producing a firmdownward, constantly increasing pressure upon the clay between the lowerand upper dies, which pressuremay be regulated as to its intensity bymeans of the adjustable connection between the rods 53 and the crosshead 39. Said pressure will continue until the arm 62 has passed beyondits lowermost vertical po-' sition, when said arm 62will move out andaway from the ledge 58, at which time the arm 63 on the opposite side ofthe head 51 will engage the lifting ledge 59, and the arm 63 being ofrelatively greater length the Said upper position will be maintained "bythe arm 63 until the position shown in Fig. 3 is assumed, when the arm62 will again come into contact with the ledge 55, and the cycle ofoperation justdescribed will be repeated.

By the operation of the mechanism just by the upper and'lower dies.

It should be noted that the disposition of the radial arm 36 on theshaft 10 is such that during thetime when the head 51 ismaintained inits extreme upper position the die block 12 is rotated by the operationof the rod 28 as hereinbefore described. At the time when the head 51and upper die are permitted'to drop and during the timewhen the downwardpressure is exerted by the upper die upon the clay the die block 12 re-'mains stationary. y

A device of the character described being provided the operation of thesame is as follows. A bat of stiff mud having been prepared is thrownagainst the rear vertically disposed lower die, the bottom 18 of thesame being in the same projected posi- :tion as illustrated in Fig. 6.This should preferably be done at the time when the die block 12 beginsits rotation to carry said rear vertically disposed lower die up intothe upper horizontal position under the upper die. The lower die withsaid bat arranged thereon having arrived in the said upper horizontalposition the upper die will be dropped upon" said bat as hereinbeforedescribed, causing the bottom 18 of the lower die to be moved downintoproper position, any air underneath said bat being driven out at thesame'time through the crevices around the edge of said bottom 18. Inthis way all blisters or other troubles caused by air between the batand the lower die are prevented. At the time that the upper die dropsonto the bat it will be understood that the bottom 11 is in theretracted position illustrated in Fig. 1 and as the pressure is broughtto bear upon'said upper die the clay'will be firmly pressed between thelower and upper dies to form the proper contour of the finished article.At the same time the catch 19 will engage the end of the portion 47, andas the upper die is quickly lifted by the action of the lifting arm- 63I the said catch 49 will cause the bottom tripping lever to bepivotal-1y movedupon the pin ise 44. lhe upper die will be moved butslightly upward when the catch 49 will release from the portion 417,whereupon the bottom 41 will quickly assume its retracted position,leaving the upper surface of the finished article free. The die blockwill then be rotated by the rod 28 and as the lower die with the formedarticle thereon moves forwardly the cam projection 25 will push the bar19 outwardly, thus projecting the bottom 18 and moving the finishedarticle out away from the main portion of the bottom die into theposition illustrated on the front side in Fig. 6. When the article is inthis position an attendant, grasping the same by the freed edgesthereof, may readily lift the same from the bottom 18 and dispose of thearticle as may be desired. At the time when the finished article hasbeen moved from the upper position to the forward position a second bathas been placed upon that lower die which at such time moves from therear position into the upper position, and the operation of pressing isrepeated. In this manner, one attendant placing bats upon the lower diesfor pressing, and the other attendant removing the formed ware from thedies at the front of the machine will produce a continuous and rapidproduction of earthenware objects from stifi mud.

While the description hereinbefore given has referred principally to themanufacture of plates and similar articles, it should be borne in mindthat my invented press is equally intended and adapted for theproduction of other articles, being capable of producing articles ofhollow ware, or such articles as jugs and the like by making the same insections or parts and uniting the same after they have been formed uponthe press. To more fully illustrate the manner in which such articlesmay be made upon the press I have shown in Fig. 7 a sectional viewthrough an upper and lower die adapted for the making of the one-half ofa stone-ware jug. It will be noted that the parts are very similar tothe parts used in the making of plates and like articles and operate insubstantially the same manner and the sections or parts of said jug thusproduced may be united, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, producing a singlejug fromtwo united sections.

From the above it will be seen that my invented earthenware press isadapted toa large number of uses in the production of earthenwarearticles by the stiff mud process. It will be understood that said pressmay be applied to the production of any sort of articles by said processand it will also be understood that various changes in the form andconstruction of the device may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention.

I claim In a press of the character described a die-operating headprovided with a slot, an outstanding supporting ledge and anoutstanding, eccentric, pressing ledge on one side of said head and anoutstanding lifting ledge on the opposite side of said head, a shaftprovided with a sustaining and pressing arm and with a spaced, offset,lifting arm, said head mounted upon said shaft between said arms, saidsustaining and pressing arm adapted for engagement with said supportingledge and said pressing ledge and said lifting arm adapted forengagement with said lifting ledge, said head adapted for reciprocatingmovement transverse to the axis of said shaft.

In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

EUGENE L. JESTER.

VVitnesses:

WILLIAM H. MILLER, IRENE LUTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, .D. G.

